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Socceroos dealt tough World Cup draw

The Socceroos opponents for the third round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup were revealed today at the draw of the preliminary qualifying stage in Durban, South Africa.

The Socceroos opponents for the third round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup were revealed today at the draw of the preliminary qualifying stage in Durban, South Africa.

China, Iraq and Qatar will be Australia's opponents in the third round of Asian Football Confederation qualifying after the Socceroos were seeded directly into this stage of the qualifying process.

Also seeded alongside Australia were South Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Japan.

This phase of qualifying will see the Socceroos play their opponents home and away with the top-two placed teams progressing to the fourth and final round where four teams will gain direct entry to the 2010 FIFA World Cup while a fifth team will play off against the top Oceania team for the final place in South Africa.

The fixture will be distributed once confirmed by the Asian Football Confederation.